Reali Foundation hosts annual golf classic on May
The Frank J. Reali III Foundation’s annual golf classic, “Protecting One Heart at a Time,” teed off on Thursday, May 1, at the Grand Oaks Country Club (formerly the South Shore Country Club), in Huguenot.
Dr. Frank Scafuri III is headed up the outing, along with Ray Burt, from the West Shore Little League. Both men have donated their time, effort and energy to raise funds to have children’s hearts tested free of charge.
Sadly, seven years ago, Frank J. Reali III died of sudden cardiac death. A CNN medical study showed that more than 400,000 young adults (including children) die each year in this country from SCD. The only symptom that usually gets noticed is sudden death. And the foundation’s mission is to screen young people for heart issues that might end in tragedy.
A baseline heart testing for eighth-grade students or high school freshman is a protocol to follow. The gap is being filled free of charge by the Reali Foundation — where in their small foundation testing proved that more then 3 percent of the children tested were found to have a correctable heart issue — either through surgery, medicine or lifestyle change.
Assemblyman Michael Cusick is in possession of a bill to make it mandatory for insurance companies to cover the cost of an echocardiogram and EKG as part of the physical examination prior to entering high school. The foundation will spearhead a letter-writing campaign to assist Cusick in pushing the bill forward.
The foundation has partnered with both Staten Island University Hospital and Richmond University Medical Center to further this cause.
